Mood:  a-ok

Today was not going to be a difficult one.  It was 64 miles, with 1,700' of elevation gain. After the last few days, I was looking forward to today.  The views were supposed to be great and I had a very nice time-share room awaiting me at the other end.  Plus, this being my sixth day of riding, I was going to treat myself to two days of rest.

Delena had been gracious enough the day before to call some friends of hers and ask is they could put me up last night, which they agreed to.  Jack Finley and Jenn Doney were wonderful hosts, and treated me like family.  Besides their considerable artistic talent, they were interesting and fun folks.

Jack made the perfect breakfast for a touring bicyclist:  pancakes, eggs, sausage and orange juice.  I was able to test out Jack's theory that Jenn makes the strongest coffee in the world.  They were such nice people, and I was in no hurry to leave with such a short day ahead.  They left for work and I had some business to attend to, regarding my mother's finances, then I packed up and left at 9 AM.

There were likely not going to be any restaurants or general stores open until getting close to West Yellowstone, so I picked up a sandwich in Ennis for the road.  There was a small town (this typically means a general store/cafe/bar/campsites) up the road called Cameron.  West Yellowstone, here I come!

The first indication of trouble came quickly.  For the first time since leaving Colville I was riding into a strong headwind.  Between that and the slight elevation gain, I  was going much much slower than normal.  It is frustrating because not only does one have to pedal harder while going slower, but it means that  hours of pedalling will be added to the day.  Furthermore, I was under the impression that the distance was 64 miles.  It was 71.  I arrived in Cameron, the place 11 miles up the road.  It was 11 AM.  I was averaging about 6-6.5 mph.  Quick math showed that I would be lucky to get to West Yellowstone by 8-9 PM, if I could last that long.

My new strategy was to pedal consistently, not too hard and not too gently, and take fast breaks with no delays.  I hoped that the headwind would go away at some point.

Cameron had littled to choose from on the shelf, but I took what I thought might give me a little energy including some milk.  I gobbled everything down and got going.  An hour later, still into the headwind, I took a break.  Half a sandwich, a handful of trail mix and lots of water and I was on the road again.  This  was going to be a looong day.

The road was set up so that the bicycler had a rumble strip between the rider and the white line.   Unfortunately, the shoulder left to ride on varied between 18-24", not much if one wanted to look around at all.  I had to focus on the narrow shoulder or else find my self getting "rumble stripped" or in troulbe on the right in soft gravel.  Whatever panoramas were there, I was not able to enjoy as much as normal.

By the 25th or 30th mile the road had changed direction enough to minimize the headwind.  The climbing continued.  Five minute breaks every 1-1 1/2 hours.  I ran out of water but there was plenty around.  Slowly but surely I ran out of snack food, but I tried to space it so that I would be in West Yellowstone at that point.  The last 8 miles were into a strong headwind again, but who cares at that point.

When I arrived at West Yellowstone, it was 6:15 PM.  Of the 9 1/4 hours since I left near Ennis, at least 8 1/2 of it was solid, determined pedalling.  I don't remember being so exhausted.  Maybe the long previous day, or the combination of 4 mountain passes in the three previous days, helped to wear me down, but I was very, very tired.  And very hungry.

Of course, a hot shower and food in the belle helps!   Now I could do laundry (and boy, some of my clothes were in drastic need of laundering), rest, have lots of time to work on stretching with pilates, rest, eat, and rest.

I sure miss Karen.

This past week was a memorable one.  Great vistas.  Wonderful people.  Interesting challenges.  Every day was fun excepting today.

Oh, I almost forgot.  My odometer passed the 1,000 mile mark.  That means that of the 3,800 mile trip, I am over a quarter of the way to Raleigh.  Pleasant dreams.

Will McMahan